


A Divine Innocence

by Halcy (halcyonweekend)



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Cute Kids, Gen, Uncle Dante (Devil May Cry)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-14 22:39:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18485884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halcyonweekend/pseuds/Halcy
Summary: Dante plays babysitter for a day. He can't help but think about the past.





	A Divine Innocence

**Author's Note:**

> this doesn't really have a point other than someone mentioned dante would be good with kids so this doesn't really go anywhere hehe hope you enjoy regardless!!

"Yo!" Dante felt the tremors from a kick to his mattress. "Get up!"

He groaned, turned around, and pulled the thin sheet over his head. The solace was fleeting, as he felt the mattress begin to move up from one side. 

"I said get the hell UP!" He shoved it forward, causing Dante to tumble, before catching himself on the floor. 

He yawned, cracked his shoulders and neck, and finally opened his eyes. "Mmmh?" Nero stood before him, dressed up with a couple of canvas bags on either side of him. "Oh, is that today?"

"Yes, dumbass!" Dante noticed Nero was cursing more within the walls of their apartment, meaning Kyrie wasn't in earshot. "We'll be heading out to get some stuff for the kids, Kyrie's got a helluva shopping list, so we'll be gone for a while."

"Have fun!" Dante strolled over to the foot of the bed, grabbing a spare t-shirt that was slung on the bedframe.

"Keep an eye on the kids and don't let 'em get hurt, that's the absolute LEAST I'm asking from you." Nero pulled up the straps of a slipping bag onto his shoulder. "Kyrie already fed 'em breakfast, lunch is in the fridge, all in marked bags. Even you should be able to do this right."

Dante slipped on a pair of shorts, waving him away with one hand. "Yeah, yeah I got it. Feed 'em all at noon, yeah?"

"Now you're getting it." Off sounded a car horn in the distance. "Nico's coming with us too, hope you don't need back up."

"Don't wanna keep her waiting, she might run us both down." Nero snorted and sprinted out the room, the fluttering of several bags following him.

Dante strutted out the guest room and followed Nero to the entrance. From the door, he could see them playing in the yard, some shooting hoops, some playing hopscotch, others playing jump rope, and a sparse few sitting on the sides, some reading books. The sun was already overhead, the heat beating down, and the skies were a bright blue, a few clouds smattering against it. 

He waited until they were loaded up into the van, waving as they drove off.

The kids turned towards the sound of screeching tires, and all yelled in unison, "Uncle Dante's awake!"

He had forgotten his notorious reputation as a late sleeper. Scratching his cheek, he approached the fence, leaning forward. "Hey, hey....you kids know the deal right?"

"When's Nero coming back?" A boy spoke, bouncing his ball.

Dante hopped the fence, and in a flash, stole the ball from him, spinning it on his finger. "He just left, but he told me, that he'd be back soon."

Another kid ran up to him, clutching onto his leg, and he threw the ball back to first kid, afraid he might drop it on her. "Uncle, uncle! Up, up!"

"Not now..." He yawned. Peeking down, he could see tears beginning to form, her face contorting into displeasure. "...if you can wait until lunchtime," He knelt down. "I'll carry you wherever you want." 

In that split second, the crocodile tears subsided, a bright grin on her face instead. "Ok, ok!" He tousled her hair and made his way to the kids on the sidelines, giving high fives and quick pats to other kids as he made his way there.

There was a young girl, knees pressed nearly to her chest, her face buried in a pretty hefty tome. From what he could tell, it was enrapturing, as she didn't even react as he sat down next to her. 

It reminded him of the times, in between going down slides, and hanging upside down on the jungle gym, he'd spot Vergil underneath a tree, his nose buried in a book, which embarrassingly, also had his initial on the cover. Vergil was adamant that it was just in case he lost it, but Dante could hazard a guess as to really why.

"Is it good?" He whispered.

She jumped, slamming the book shut. "Uncle Dante!" She then smacked him with the book, giggling. "You scared me!"

"Sorry, sorry!" He rubbed his arm, feigning soreness. "Was wondering if I should pick up a copy myself."

"The only books I see you read are those weird magazines Mama won't let in the house..." She had him there.

"Well...maybe I want to get it for my big bro, he loves books, big nerd and all that." That earned him a few more gentle slaps on the arm.

"It's good! When I finish it, I can give it to you, but don't lose it! It's my only copy." He held out a pinky, and wrapped it around her tiny pinky. "You promise?"

"I promise."

He pat her head and made his way to a nearby folding chair. From there he could keep an eye on all the kids, not that he really needed to. It surprised him how well-behaved they all were. As a kid, he would have found them so boring, but now it was a much needed relief. Bloodthirsty demons attacking, child's play, but children actually playing was another beast he was ill-equipped to face.

He recalled being so cruel to the kids around him. At first he figured it was self-defense, they had called him so many awful things, names that spanned from the childish to the malevolent. After they figured he couldn't be hurt physically, they took to more crueler methods. The amount of times they came after his poor mother, the amount of times they blamed him for what had happened...

Nails dug into his palms, a dull pain that only became more apparent as he was interrupted.

"U-Uncle..." The small voice stuttered from beneath him, barely able to even pronounce the word. Dante looked down, seeing tiny hands pull on his leg hair, as they were too small to reach for anything else. He scooped her up and placed her on his lap. She squealed in delight.

"Sorry, Uncle was thinking, what's up?" She tilted her head in response. 

"Okay?" He could tell she was asking if he was okay. When he didn't answer immediately, she tapped his forearm as hard as she could, and yelled it again. "Okay?!"

He grasped her hand gently. "Yes, I'm okay. How 'bout you?" She nodded with her whole body.

Once she was satisfied, she exclaimed, hands pointing to the ground. "Down!" 

"Bossy, are we?" He grinned and let her down. She scampered off as best she could, making her way to a group of older kids.

The rest of the morning was terribly uneventful, to the point that he ended up falling asleep in his chair. His snoring was loud enough that people thought someone had gotten chains stuck in a lawnmower. Noon came around, and while he was asleep, the kids surrounded him. At the count of three, at the top of their lungs, they started to yell his name, but before they could even exhale, he was out of his seat.

"Lunchtime already?" They all nodded. "I'm starving too, so good timing..." He rubbed his stomach and made his way back inside. In the kitchen, there were a couple coolers ready, a note on one.

Ice is in the freezer, make sure to fill up both coolers.  
Don't confuse Michael's and Michaela's food, Michael's deathly allergic.  
No sweets, no matter how much they ask, they can wait until after dinner.  
Thanks again!  
\- Kyrie

He couldn't help but recall the times Mom made them both lunch. She would always try to make it right before lunch time, so that it was at peak freshness, but whenever she was busy, she'd make them even nicer lunches to make up for the lack of freshness. Dante didn't really care for the more lavish lunches, he always preferred a good ol' PB&J, partially because it tasted fine and was easy to make, but partially because of the looks he'd get otherwise.

Vergil tended to ignore sidelong glances, but Dante couldn't bear the constant being under a microscope. He would pull out a small tray of cheeses, deli meats, and a few different fruits. As time went on, he would just make lunches for himself, even when it ended up a messy failure. He figured she was disappointed but understood, and saved the nicer stuff for the times school wasn't in session.

Coming back to reality, he raided both the freezer and fridge, dumping assorted cans of juice and bottles of water in both coolers. He loaded the bagged lunches onto a spare canvas bag that Nero must have dropped earlier.

As he came back out, the children began to crowd around again, arms reaching expectantly. He dashed around them, making his way back to his seat, placing his legs on one of the coolers.

"Before you kids go crazy," He waved Michael over. "is this one yours?" He handed the tallest of the bunch a brown paper bag. He squinted, reading the label over and over, before nodding. "Alright, awesome." 

He opened the canvas bag wider. "Rest of you dig in, if you got complaints take it up with the chef..." He placed a spare newspaper on his head, giving the kids a once over before placing it over his eyes. The sounds of kids talking, laughing, and teasing each other kept him from falling back asleep. He laughed at some of the jokes they told, as bad as they were, he moved his head back and forth to the sound of a beautiful voice, singing what sounded like nonsense words.

With his eyes closed, he could see the stretches of field past their backyard. The wind was blowing gently, causing the flowers in her garden to dance and sway. Vergil was practicing swordfighting, his wooden sword moving with grace. She sat on a checkboard blanket, a picnic basket by her side, and a tray in front of her, lined with freshly baked cookies. Normally she wouldn't allow eating sweets before dinner, but she felt today was a special day.

He ran to her, wrapping his arms tightly around her as she stroked his head. She felt so warm, even as the breeze grew stronger. Her arms felt strong around him, as if nothing would ever let her go. He felt a weight on his chest, and pangs of nearly forgotten pain in his heart.

The car had pulled up much earlier than expected. Nero and Nico began hauling out bags and boxes of goods, racing to see who could make it inside first. Kyrie hopped out the passenger's seat, making her way to the yard.

"Hello!" She yelled and waved. The kids ran to her, some embracing her, some cheering for her return. "Mama", they yelled. Mentally, she counted heads, and noticed three were missing.

She panicked at first, and wondered where Dante had gone. Looking ahead, she saw him in the distance. Relieved, she sprinted over, ready to thank him for his help. Before she could speak, she shushed herself.

Resting on either side of Dante was a young girl and a young boy, with the smallest resting on his chest, tiny hands clinging onto his t-shirt. Dante himself was gently snoring this time.

Kyrie scrambled, pulling out her cellphone, and snapped a picture before the other had noticed her presence.

"Delete that." He mumbled.

"Sorry Dante...and thank you." Kyrie giggled and ran off, a trail of happy children following her.


End file.
